A report issued this week (October 8) by the national Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters says that there is a serious access to justice problem in Canada and suggests that the needs of the public be placed first in a coordinated effort by all stakeholders to introduce innovation and fundamental change. The full report may be found at www.cfcj-fcjc.org/collaborations or on the PLEIS website, here.

The Action Committee on Access to Justice in Civil and Family Matters is a group broadly representative of all sectors of the civil and family justice system as well as of the public. It was convened at the invitation of the Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, Chief Justice of Canada in 2008 and since that time, more than fifty individuals and groups from all sectors of the civil justice system in Canada have participated in its work.

The report presents a broad consensus among all of those stakeholders that significant change is urgently needed and sets out a broad roadmap for reform.